Review: Jason Collett, Zeus and Bahamas present The Bonfire Ball @ Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON

"I like to think of Zeus as The Band when they're backing up Jason, and Crazy Horse when they're backing me up."

Day One of Canadian Music Week and there's a lineup that extends from the doors of Lee's Palace east to nearly Brunswick Ave. They're waiting for 'Dylan' 'Young' and 'The Band.' Wednesday was not only the start of CMW but the launch of the Bonfire Ball tour; the only showcase to not list set times for the performers. For those of you familiar with Jason Collett's Basement Revue series (if not, check out Show #18 and Show #20) the format of the Bonfire Ball is comforting... Collett, Zeus and Toronto's Bahamas (Afie Jurvanan) backed each other up through a revolving set of all three artist's material.

The bulk of the two sets were filled by Collett, who's catalogue is a little deeper and who's album Rat a Tat Tat was released Tuesday on Arts & Crafts. Rat a Tat Tat was produced by Carlin Nicholson and Michael O'Brien of Zeus and features backing vocals and instrumentals from Zeus' other half, Quin and Rob Drake, and Bahamas himself, Jurvanan plays on several tracks. There's an idea; take the band that played the album on the tour for the album, and while you're at it, play the great music they're making.

Leaning against the stage, camera in hand, I rarely turned around to see the full club, but you knew they were there. With each starting note, a cheer, with each ending, another. Instruments continually exchanged, Collett, Jurvanan, and the boys in Zeus played through the night, the only indication as to who's music we were hearing, the shift in vocal duty. In an interview with NOW Magazine, Neil Quin of Zeus said his main worry about the long sets was "going that long without smoking." Funny, that was the first thing he mentioned before Zeus finished the first set and the crowd was forced into a 15 minute intermission. The only break they would take through 3 hours.

In that same interview with NOW, Quin said, “There’s pressure to change your style every few years based on whatever is happening at the time, and certain brands of rock and roll were never fully explored as a result.” The show felt like proof of concept on that idea of fully exploring something familiar. Collett's drawling Canadian rock, Zeus's harmonized Beatles references, Bahamas' pop-blues; they're nothing new, nothing ground-breaking. You don't go home at the end of the night telling your friends about how many people were on stage, the strange instruments you had never seen, or the weird shit they did. You talk about the stories they told. You hear the hooks, the melodies. You feel like they took something familiar and comfortable and made you hear it again in a different way. Referential? Yes, but not derivative.

Comfort. It's the word I've used every time I describe a Jason Collett show to someone. Now I can include Bahamas and Zeus in that musical adjective. They all looked so comfortable up there. When they perform, we watch, comforted by the familiarity, their ease and the jokes in the lyrics that we feel in on, the stories that we get the strange sense we've experienced ourselves. Perhaps that's part of the success of the bands that Bahamas compared himself and the others to. Neil Young, Bob Dylan and The Band give us songs that speak to the push and pull we each experience. They give eloquence to the conflicts and concepts we hold dear. They express something that feels familiar. An older interview with Collett was on CBC Radio 3's Extended Play recently. They were talking about Canadian stories, and on the front end of that show, host Lisa Chistiansen might have cut to the heart of why we felt this way and why the Bonfire Ball will be so successful;

"We all know what it's about... our stories are all different but somehow recognizable."

- Jay Blackwood*
*This was Show #30 in Jay's Live Music Project; 365 days, 52 shows, 1 per week. Follow the progress on Facebook or @ livemusicproject.blogspot.com

Links

---

Bonfire Ball Tour Dates: http://www.arts-crafts.ca/jasoncollett/tour.php
Jason Collett on CBC Radio 3: http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Jason-Collett
Zeus on CBC Radio 3: http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/Zeus
Bahamas on CBC Radio 3: http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/bands/bahamas
Extended Play w. Lisa Christiansen: http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/podcasts/CBC-Radio-3-Extended-Play-Interviews-and-Ideas

Set Lists (minus full encore... help fill in the artist where I didn't know)

---

Set One
Livin' The Dream

Fire (Jason Collett)

Hangover Days (Jason Collett)

Your Touch

Caught Me Thinkin' (Bahamas)

Okay, Alright, I'm Alive (Bahamas)

Be My Witness (Bahamas)

I Know (Zeus)

Kindergarten (Zeus)

Fever of the Time (Zeus)

Almost Summer (Jason Collett)

High Summer (Jason Collett)

Greater Times on the Wayside (Zeus)

The River by the Garden (Zeus)

Feral Republic (Jason Collett)

Bitch City (Jason Collett)

Winnipeg Winds (Jason Collett)

Marching Through Your Head (Zeus)

Cornerstones (Zeus)

Set Two

How Does It Feel? (Zeus)

The Renegade (Zeus)

I Got You Babe (Bahamas)

Never Again

Cold Blue Halo (Jason Collett)

Lake Superior (Jason Collett)

Rave On Sad Songs (Jason Collett)

Already Yours (Bahamas)

What's Worse (Bahamas)

At The Risk of Repeating (Zeus)

Love Is A Chain (Jason Collett)

Out of Time (Jason Collett)

Charlyn, Angel of Kensington (Jason Collett)

Love Is A Dirty Word (Jason Collett)

Brownie Hawkeye (Jason Collett)

Hockey Teeth (Bahamas)

Heavy On Me (Zeus)

You Gotta Tell'er (Zeus)

Blue Sky (Jason Collett)

Rainy Day Rain (Jason Collett)

We All Lose One Another (Jason Collett)

Long May You Love (Jason Collett)

I'll Bring The Sun (Jason Collett)

Encore:

...

Can't Get You Out Of My Head (Kylie Minogue cover... video here)

AllTogetherNow: Billy Manzik Alberta Dates & Reviews

April 1, 2010: Blackbird Coffeehouse, Coleman, AB
April 2, 2010: Twin Butte General Store, Twin Butte, AB
April 3, 2010: The Ironwood Stage & Grill, Calgary, AB
April 8, 2010: The Haven Social Club, Edmonton, AB

Billy Manzik's new release "AllTogetherNow" is getting rave reviews! Pick up your copy of this phenomenal album, enjoying play on radio across Canada including CBC Radio One's "Fresh Air", #8 on !earshot's Roots Charts and being featured in February on InRetro Radio LIVE on the net. Scott James, Music Director for Q100.3FM in Victoria, BC says "...the real songwriting and real music deal. Sounds like The Great White North version of a young (Steve) Earle!"

REVIEW - Americana UK **9 out of 10**
REVIEW - NoDepression.com
REVIEW - babysue.com
REVIEW - GrayOwl Point
REVIEW - AllVoices.com

Billy Manzik's musical journey began where Highway 61, the "Blues Highway" ends, in Thunder Bay Ontario. The soundtrack for his upbringing was provided by his guitar slinging, country singing mother, and influenced by roots rock, old rhythm and blues, and even (gasp) the metal bands of the 80's, not to mention Billy's penchant for wandering the continent. The result is a driving blues rock sound, complete with catchy riffs, lyrical hooks and a 'feel-good' toe tapping kind of style.

Billy's new release AllTogetherNow packages this sound into one beautiful and diverse album, sure to catch the ear of any who hear it. From the anthemic, uptempo lead out track 'On A Road' and the sweet harmonies of 'Hannah', to the wailin' bluesy rock of '61 Highway' and the summertime pop sounds of 'Has Been', 'AllTogetherNow' combines musical ingredients so well it puts the icing on the rock n' roll cake. Recorded at Orange Lounge Studios and Knob and Tube Studios in Toronto and produced by Chris Wardman (The Tragically Hip, Randy Bachman) with help from David Gavan Baxter (Justin Rutledge), 'AllTogetherNow' is music for modern times. Chock full of energy, hope, and a little melancholy, its mostly just plain fun. In addition to Billy on vocals and guitar, the album showcases the talents of many well-known Canadian musicians, Geoff Hilhorst (Deep Dark Woods) on keys, Erik Allen (Jenny Whiteley) on drums, Mike Filipowitsch on guitar and Jonny Kerr on bass, plus appearances from many others. Everyone, all together now!

Watch for a glowing review of "AllTogetherNow" in the spring issue of Penguin Eggs, Canada's Folk, Roots & World Music Magazine, which calls the album "a powerful roots-rock assault that hits every pop nerve you've ever pumped with proteins." (Eric Thom)

Billy Manzik's music career debuted in Alberta in 2007 with his self-titled release, recorded at Calgary's Rocky Mountain Studios with producer Rob Smith, with help from Daniel J. Coe (Aerosmith, The Trews) and contributed to by Canadian icons Tim Williams, Charlie Hase and Bill Zulak. "Billy Manzik" received critical acclaim, charting on several !earshot charts and being featured on CBC's Key of A. In 2008 Billy showcased at the annual Alberta Sessions (Alberta Music Series), broadcast on CBC's Radio 2, and kicked off the 2008 Juno Awards with a spirited performance at the annual Juno Welcome Reception. In recent years Billy has played with or opened for such luminaries as Blue Rodeo, Elliott Brood, The Trews, and Colin James. Billy currently resides back in Thunder Bay, Ontario while he decides where to go next!

"..do yourself a favor and purchase a copy of this brilliant new record from Billy Manzik. I don't believe there will be a sorry bone in your body." ~ 'Rebel' Rod Ames, NoDepression.com

"Once again a Canadian beats Americans at their own game...Billy Manzik writes cool, bluesy, Americana-based pop/rock that is fueled by genuine sincerity...Manzik is one of those up-and-coming artists who could easily become hugely popular if all the pieces just happen to fit together." ~ babysue.com

Billy's Website
Billy's Myspace Page
Buy "AllTogetherNow" on IndiePool.com
Buy "AllTogetherNow" on KerfMusic
Buy "Billy Manzik" on KerfMusic

Review: Owen Pallet @ Lincoln Alexander Theatre, Hamilton, ON w. Snowblink

Have you ever have one of those nights where everything you do seems to have a quote to go with it? How about those nights where you seem to fall for everyone you come across? Tucked up on the second floor of the east side of Crown Plaza Hotel in Hamilton, the 700 seats of the Lincoln Alexander Theatre sit against beige fabric panel walls, aisle lights aglow. The upstairs windowed atrium housed both the bar and merch and looked across the street to Hamilton's downtown core. Owen Pallett and Snowblink were playing the theatre in what has turned out to be a quotable night of falling.

A friend who was at the show asked me at one point earlier in the day, "Who are you? Nick Hornby?" That was the way I felt during Snowblink:

"I want to date a musician."

"I want to live with a musician, [they'd] write songs at home and ask me what I think of them; maybe include one of our private little jokes in the liner notes."
(High Fidelity)

With no door time printed on our tickets, we walked in midset; coming around the corner into a darkened performance of Midsummer Night's Dream. A gorgeous nymph dressed in tattered pink held an antlered guitar as bells and chimes rang and a distant voice, like a dream sang backups through the underwater mic. Lilting and soft, Daniela Gesundheit is the woman you envision on a couch, pane glass windows filtering the light as it comes in on Saturday morning, playing classical guitar, writing and singing as you sleepily shuffle towards the kitchen for coffee. Her husband was standing on the other side of the stage however, and insisted on being a talented one man band. On keys, percussion, guitar and vocal duties, Dan Goldman accompanied Gesundheit as they flowed effortlessly through their textured ambient folk, looping vocals and tones over a set that included "Rut & Nuzzle," "The Tired Bees," "Stand Where The Fruit Tree Drops The Things It Doesn't Need" amongst others.

Now let it be known, I throw around the helpless, weak-kneed fall for female musicians declarations, somewhat easily. It kills me to see incredibly talented women kill it on stage. Owen Pallett marks the first musician man-crush I've had in a while. As you watch him build, construct, and compile the bold threads of each layered composition, there's a sense of awe and wonder. You want to crawl inside his head and see the parts; watch the delicate machinery of his classical mind as the string lines, percussion and vocals are choreographed into a fervent swelling existence. I sat in my seat with a smile on my face, leaning forward in anticipation of the next song whatever it was going to be. It didn't matter that I wasn't familiar with the discography; that Heartland (Domino, 2010) was my only entrance point to Pallett so far. With a hand to my face I bit the edge of my finger and laughed a little each time the sampler kicked back the densely knitted violin arrangements; Pallett making use of the string instrument as so, but also as percussion and bass when played through a pedal setup. Thomas Gill filled out the rest of each song providing "the fashion sense in the band" as well as backing vocals, whistles, percussion and keys. There's an otherworldly quality to Pallett's music; it's painfully beautiful, gently compulsive, labouriously free sounding. Pallett's set was sex and God. Drawn in large part from Heartland, it also included Final Fantasy era tracks like "This Is The Dream of Win and Regine" and "The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead." A hung-over, surreal feeling nestled in after the show ended. Hornby's pubescent fantasy gave way;

"His song smacked me in the face with a sting I had never felt before. I was awake to something I had never known before. Maybe it was sex; maybe it was the Holy Ghost; probably it was both."
(David Ritz on jazz artist Jimmy Reed)

But as we left the theatre and made our way towards Augusta St. (Hamilton's 'other' bar street); as we sat drinking pints at The Ship, talking about anything and everything that came across our minds path, I lingered on the ideas of both interesting women and interesting musicians and it was Salinger who won the night;

"That's the thing... Everytime they do something pretty... you half fall in love with them and then you never know where the hell you are."
(Catcher in the Rye)

- Jay Blackwood*

*This was Show #29 in Jay's Live Music Project; the pursuit of 1 show per week for a year. Follow the progress @ livemusicproject.blogspot.com or join the Facebook group.

Review: Fucked Up @ The Opera House, Toronto, ON

People remember first records. The first cassette I bought was (embarrassingly) Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet. First CD; Treble Charger's Self=Title. The story of my first record starts Saturday morning on my cousin's couch; he and his wife having supported my drinking for the night by providing the most comfortable couch I've had the privilege of sleeping on in a while. Ian and I had spent the street-car ride across Queen and King St. and another hour once we got home, talking about the things we hadn't talked about in years after the visceral experience of Fucked Up. It was an unleashing and pushing moment. Forward, bold, hard, aggressive, unapologetic.

We came through the doors of the one-time vaudeville theatre as Give finished their set. From Annapolis Junction, just North-East of Washington D.C., their singer screamed at the mic as the bassist rolled on his back to his left; their guitar players providing a dichotomous display of simultaneous spinning and amp-gazing stillness.

We drank more; we moved from behind the soundboard as D'Ubervilles took the stage. They presented themselves as casually dressed record store nerds with a clear love for all things Joy Division and a steady nod to working class Toronto rock of Cons ilk. The beats were unrelenting; Greg Santilly attacked the high-hat. Johnny O, who performs solo as Diamond Rings, danced, moved and beckoned the crowd, urging the music forward.

Our legs tired on the uneven tiled floor of The Opera House and found rest as Kurt Vile began. Leaned forward, his long hair draped over the body of his guitar, his bearded, flannel wearing accompanist dancing eyes-closed either on guitar or with maraca and tambourine in hand banging a primal looking drum. As we rested on the small table, I realized that these sounds were waiting for a moment that I've had before; July, Sunset Beach Park, Vancouver after an evening thunderstorm sitting on driftwood with sand under my feet.

Cheers came from the side-bar as Canada v. Slovakia came to a tense finish and Fucked Up took the stage. This was experience one for me with Fucked Up. I had seen the press around their Polaris Prize win for Chemistry of Common Life but hadn't heard the record, hadn't heard anything. I quickly learned what to expect.

There's a strange tension to Fucked Up; like a collective of directions and influences that met for a flash of musical genius. The live show belonged to Damian Abraham. Bare-chested, shirt torn to shreds he conjured fan after fan to the mic, he handed vocal duties to kids as they ran across the stage to dive into the crowd, the thumps of their dropped bodies felt across floor. One fan's vocal support was a little longer than the others and was rewarded by another audience member with first a push and next, an attempt to beat him with the mic Damian had handed over. The band paused as security pulled him off. The band finished the song.

It felt as though 9,999 of the 10,000 watts in The Opera House were slowly being pumped into the atmosphere. You felt it more and more in your body. It swelled and grew in your gut. Bodies continued flying from the stage, some hitting the hands of waiting caregivers, others hitting with clenched jaws and pained expressions. Damian made his way into the crowd, stood on the bar, "My original plan was to crowd surf over to the other bar" he joked before confirming that his 300 pound frame would snap our feeble limbs. He came across the room to the opposite bar, the floor crowd holding the mic cable high as he posed and smiled for the dozens of cameras that followed him before he returned to the stage. A kid jumped up, and before diving was thrown by Damian over his back, mic still in hand and vocals still scraping and scouring the thick wall of guitars, he suplexed the teen into waiting arms below the front of the stage.

'ChemCom' was played front to back with only the brief fight-break. As the last notes of "The Chemistry of Common Life" finished ringing Damian gave a 'fuck you' to the staged drama of the requisite encore by saying they were done, but they were just going to stay on stage and play a couple more songs; Sex Pistols' "Bodies" and "Police" from their own 2007 7". The show over, we walked out into the cool February night with smiles on, slightly drunk. Passed the Blue Moon Lounge where the after party had started an hour before the show ended. Grabbed pizza, grabbed the streetcar.

Bought my first vinyl on Saturday after a breakfast of too much bacon and not enough sleep. Spent today reading The Show I'll Never Forget with The Chemistry of Common Life playing over headphones from the turntable. It was rich, violent and luminous, and finding it was punctuated by a reconnection to an old friend on a streetcar ride across downtown Toronto after a show I likely won't forget any time soon. People remember their first records.

- Jay Blackwood*

*This was show #28/52 in Jay's Live Music Project; an effort to see one show a week for an entire year. Follow the progress @ livemusicproject.blogspot.com and on Facebook

Review: Woodpigeon @ The Casbah, Hamilton, ON

The lineup at the Casbah on Monday was an odd assortment, but in the end had a quirk and an element of beauty. As always at the Casbah, touring bands and their openers are joined by local acts; typically the highlights of the young local talent. On this night, The Dirty Nil and The Social Workers were up opening for Betty Burke and Calgary's Woodpigeon.

Wolfshirt Records' The Dirty Nil unleashed 90's alt. rock with recollections of Nirvana and Catharine Wheel and heed to that decade's Sonic Unyon releases. We walked in to find the trio gathered around one mic, singing with eyes closed and throats wide. Harmonic bridge strumming, heavy beats and heavier bass. Go see.

The Social Workers may find themselves dogged by the long list of material that came across clearly in their set. From Joy Division to Stone Roses, The Doors, Interpol, Sonic Youth, The National, Radiohead, The Strokes, the young lads played a referential but incredibly catchy set including "Tweetie Bird" and "Ambiguity" that the crowd loved. Best song of the set was "Spend Some Time," a synth-hooked brooder. In an 'ain't kidnapping hilarious moment' we were treating to a post-Valentines poem from singer Spence Newell: "Roses are red, Violets are blue, I have a knife, So get in the fucking van."

As a duo, quirky vocalist Maggie MacDonald (nee Hidden Cameras) with Holly Andruchuk on guitar, are Betty Burke. When last I saw MacDonald, it was on stage leading interpretive dancing in a yellow dress: subtract the girlish getup, add more opportunity for vocals, and you find her hands and body language are still linked inextricably to her words. The songs were played simply by Andruchuk and at times lyrically meandered into the melodramatic... like running from the law. They were joined by the Woodpigeon folks to end the set, and it's clear Betty Burke fills out nicely with a full band. However, let it be said, Maggie MacDonald has bar-none the best stage banter of all time. I could listen to that woman fill tuning time for hours... would probably pee.

Woodpigeon glimmered despite the harsh lighting of the Casbah stage. Mark Hamilton's compositions firmly grip the dramatic build; looping whistles, hooks and vocals in soaring fields of vibrating air. Blaze and Glimmer are the most serene rhythm section... locked without even a glance, Kenna is a wonder on keys, Hamilton's vocals flowed over the room, his words cautionary and calm. On my walk from the car to the club I felt something that I love. There's this quirk about cities that I fall for on warmer winter nights. The slightly damp roads seem to luminesce, reflecting the street lights, a damp, coolness to the air, and an unexpectedly beautiful sound like peeling as tires pass adherent through melt-water. Woodpigeon's show was like one of these moments. Something glows about their songs, something leads you to breath deep, and there's beauty in the sound. Woodpigeon is my new soundtrack to thawing nights with lingering regrets, pauses and moments of serene contentment.

- Jay Blackwood*

* This was Show #27 in Jay's Live Music Project. 1 concert a week, 52 in the year before September 2010. Follow the progress at http://livemusicproject.blogspot.com

Woodpigeon Set List:
Piano Pieces for Adult Beginners
Morningside
Such a Lucky Girl
The Saddest Music in the World
The Pesky Druthers
Knock-Knock
Woodpigeon vs. Eagle Owl (Strength In Numbers)
Lay Your Love On Me
Songbook
... And as the Ship Went Down, You'd Never Looked Finer

Links:

http://myspace.com/thedirtynil

http://myspace.com/thesocialworkers

http://myspace.com/bettyburke

http://myspace.com/woodpigeon

Review: By Divine Right @ The Ford Plant, Brantford, ON

"I don't know where I'm sleeping tonight," was overheard in the lounge at the Ford Plant as By Divine Right unpacked their gear and chatted with the guy who "sometimes" is in charge. Half way through my project I'm starting to get it and I can't begin to describe the admiration and respect that touring musicians deserve... the shit that they go through to do what they love. I'm starting to see that to do this for a living, you really have to want it.

The Ford Plant is somewhat emblematic of Brantford; signs of former glory, left to the friction of time while still being lived in. A grit and honesty that is coupled with a humility and good humour. It sits across from a seeming ghost town of boarded buildings, but down the street from a vibrant and refurbished side of downtown. Cracked plaster lines the main room, hangs from the light fixture, artwork of iron clad valkyries, framed 300 piece puzzles on the wall above curb-side couches on the periphery. Basement bathrooms with unmarked doors match the splendor of the playing space's green check vinyl floor that transitions toward the stage, accommodating the audio snake that runs to a once-manned sound both, no longer containing it's board. It's cobbled together, unpolished, cliquey, possibly hepatatic, yet comforting... we were back in the low-draw, low-cover all ages venues of high school and I couldn't help but smile and love it.

Two mics faced Hunter Robinson, one for his vocals, one for his guitar. As though we had caught him eyes-closed singing in his bedroom, the 18 year old played (for the most part) straight to his girlfriend (Megan I believe her name was), standing just in front of their two friends. His parents stood to the other side of the stage, myself and two others the only sign of strangers in the room. A small notebook precariously balanced on a music stand, covered at times with loose paper, lyrics passed from the onlooking girlfriend for guidance.

"We are Simon vs. God" started Simon Walton. This was his first show with guitarist/bassist Ryan Phillips. 10 songs were on the slate and all found Walton and Phillips wandering and looking for each other along the fretboard. When they connected, there were inspired moments, but time dragged and the new partnership felt very new.

We stepped out for a few minutes to recollect, and take a break from the long set. We grabbed coffee, and by the time we returned, Innes Wilson and His Opposition were finishing their set. Dual vocals, screams and what sounded like love for Hayden and Chore. It was definitely feeling more like high school, in the best possible way... made me want to see a Kitchens and Bathrooms set again.

This is the second time I've seen By Divine Right this winter. Having toured Mutant Message from Ontario to the east coast, the Ford Plant seemed like a strange tack-on night. "We went bowling and had about 10 hot totties before this" Jose Contreras stated. They seemed tired. Starting with "I Love A Girl," Mutant Message was played track for track most of the way through. Having to bundle to stay warm in the frigid venue, as they moved through the set, layers peeled back and the crowd warmed, possibly a little too late. A wrecking ball ending to "Help Me Find A Place To Land" was to be the punctuation mark on the night. As Contreras's guitar squelched, resting against the amp, Michael Milosh aimed for the inset lighting on the low side stage bulkhead, spearing zealously with the head of his baritone Fender, dropping it to the floor and dancing in a happy presentation of a can of beans that had spectated from his stack for the whole show. The noise cut off, the guy sitting on the stool to our left whined, "Come on.... play one more. Come onnnnnn!" The 20 person crowd was urged into clapping and after a surprisingly brief tuning, "I Will Hook You Up" was the whiner's reward. "You ask us to play one more, we'll do it" Jose responded... and it worked... again. "Titty Shaker" closed the night. Tiny venue, tiny draw, tiny take (20 people @ $7 bucks a piece), low key crowd, and not knowing where to sleep at night could beat you down as a touring musician. But By Divine Right delivered upbeat rock with a fullness a 3 piece rarely achieves. Contreras smiled the whole set, held his guitar high, stank-faced solos and all. As we drove home all we could say was "those guys must fucking love what they do. They must really want it."

- Jay Blackwood*

*This was show #26, the half-way point of Jay's Live Music Project; a one year task to see a 52 concerts... one a week. Follow the progress at http://livemusicproject.blogspot.com

http://myspace.com/inneswilson

http://myspace.com/bydivineright

Concert Review: Wavelength 500 - Holy Fuck @ Steam Whistle Brewery w. Russian Futurists, Diamond Rings, FemBots

Since 1999, Wavelengths have been supporting local musicians with their "open format" concerts and zine. Thursday was the second night of 5 nights, with 25 bands to celebrate the 10th year and 500th itteration of their weekly series which over the years has seen performances from the likes of Broken Social Scene, Feist, Hidden Cameras, Owen Pallett, Junior Boys, Great Lake Swimmers, Tokyo Police Club and a myriad of others.

As we came through the entrance way at the Steam Whistle Brewery, FemBots were just finishing their set. Paul Aucoin was transfixed, zen-like, as his four mallets hammered the vibraphone, Dave MacKinnon and Brian Poirier trading pop vocals. By the time we settled in to the tight crowd, their set was done. That's the second time I've missed FemBots opening a show.

If you ever walk in to a venue, look at the stage and see a tall, skinny blond with a vaguely Hitler-youth haircut, Grace Jones makeup, acid-wash jean jacket, zebra tights, a MacBook, a Strat and dance moves honed with pursed lips in front of a bedroom mirror... you're seeing Diamond Rings (D'Uberville's John O'Regan). He was fun, people sang along, large novelty rings were held high by two die-hards at the front of the stage. Just wish he had kept the Steam Whistle hard hat going strong.

"We've been away a while and were going to do the Pearl Jam thing where we get up and play all the new stuff that you've never heard before. Which is cool, but you just wanted to hear fucking Jeremy." The Russian Futurists made me move. With a new album Weight On Wheels due this summer, this was their first live performance in a while and first with the new live lineup (now with 50% of Shout Out Out Out's drummers!). Cadence Weapon jumped on stage in a Cosby sweater and added a slow-rhyme finish to a song near the end of the set. I am impatient for the album and another show already.

Holy Fuck... 'nuff said. The night closed as a tangle of cables, synths, pedals and film reels screamed go. Before 1:30 am, we were sweating, eyes closed, moving, undulating, to flowing waveforms, snapping, clipping synth and unrelenting beats. Thursday night yields early departures of course, but the pre-encore crowd urged forward and pressed against each other. It's not just a clever name and you need to see them live.

- Jay Blackwood

*This was Show #25 (of 52) in Jay's Live Music Project, a one year effort to see one show per week. Follow the progress at http://livemusicproject.blogspot.com

Artist links:
http://myspace.com/holyfuck
http://myspace.com/therussianfuturists
http://myspace.com/diamondringsmusic
http://myspace.com/fembots

For more info on Wavelengths:

http://wavelengthtoronto.com

Or...

Brian Borcherdt of Holy Fuck talks to City Sonic about Wavelengths (the 'band web' part is amazing).

Review: By Divine Right w. Pumps at The Casbah, Hamilton, ON

With the doors posted as opening at 8pm, we got there at 9:30. Walking in, it seemed destined not to be an exuberant affair... an impression that an indie rock "legend" would unknowingly shake out of me with his set. That said, aside from the girl at the door, the bartender and show openers Pumps sitting at a small table drinking a round, The Casbah was empty. Even the house music was quiet. At first I thought something had to be wrong. No sound tech, no By Divine Right, not even the tell tale sign of merch at the table by the door. In some strange cosmic coincidence, we found a rough note from a reviewer on our table. As if predicting our fate, it read: “If you say your show starts at 8 it better start at 8.” Lineup changes had caused delays.

Before ten rolled around, another fifteen dedicated Hamiltonians arrived, mostly friends of Pumps. And with their hello hugs and friend-of-friend introductions finished, they got up from their table and started their set. Pumps seemed less cocky and self-assured than in November when last I saw them open for Most Serene Republic. Perhaps the absence of the all ages crowd or perhaps the absence of unfamiliar bodies… Whatever the cause, I fell with more ease into the Strokes-esque straight 4’s, snare fills, and robotic guitar riffs without the pomp. Broken only by the odd shout out to their friends and frequent shout outs to By Divine Right, the clockwork turn-of-the-millenium indie blasted from the always decibel soaked speakers of the Casbah at an incredible pace, barely a inward breath between end and beginning to recuperate. By mid-set, By Divine Right had arrived.

With their openers as the front-row audience and fortunate fans, and a handful of us scattered around the edges of the venue, the most recent incarnation of By Divine Right (Jose Contreras in his “Rob Lowe special” shirt and “just gay enough” scarf, towering lumberjack Michael Milosh and David Joseph, the so-dubbed "best guitar player in the band") took the stage. “This is our soundcheck” Contreras quipped before spending the next hour bleeding a gamut of Canadian indie into the room. Honoured as “my favourite incarnation of BDR” by alum Brian Borcherdt of Holy Fuck, the trio dug into Mutant Message the current home-recorded album on Hand Drawn Dracula, as well as songs from 2004’s Sweet Confusion and 2001’s Good Morning Beautiful. They played with verve most bands would hold fast for a bigger night, Jose interjecting with “thanks for letting us play in your rehearsal space” as the only reference to the show’s draw.

I’ll admit I went into this show with zero knowledge of By Divine Right. My desire to see them live came this December when, at his Basement Revue series, Jason Collett referred to Contreras and crew as “legends” while introducing Colleen Hixenbaugh (2001-2006 alum). Zero knowledge admitted it is with confidence I say I was NOT the super-fan in the room. That guy had an orange, white and black toque and stood close to the stage heckling throughout. With a heckler on your back and what I would have expected to be a tiring weight from the 28 person deep list of those who’ve left the band since 1989, I was amazed by the show. Contreras’s heart shines outward. The notes glimmered with a toothy smiling distortion, his fender struck and beaten, convulsing them into existence, pulled by shear will, not the pick. Violent joy.

Brian Borcherdt once told The National Post that “Jose had a lot more of a free, embrace-the-chaos kind of vibe; it felt fun to bring people in the audience onto the stage.” Super-fan was thusly embraced. He requested and was had his requests honoured, joked with the sound tech, hugged his friends in Pumps and even jumped on stage, took Milosh’s mic and contributed backing vocals to a song. Super-fan's heckling descended further as the set went on, to heckling about heckling. “Do you like hecklers?” he shouted. Contreras simply laughed, smiled his smile and said, “I love heckling. It shows you’re paying attention.” No wonder that Contreras guy seems so happy and no wonder the low expectations that overwhelmed me on entering the venue were unfounded. With myriad lineup changes, sparse Monday night crowds, and be-toqued hecklers, Contreras embraces the chaos and finds joy in his shows by just being glad that someone is paying attention.

- Jay Blackwood

Upcoming By Divine Right Tour Dates:
February 4 @ Babas Lounge, Charolttetown, PEI
February 5 @ The Seahorse, Halifax, NS
February 6 @ TBA, Truro, NS
February 7 @ The Capital, Fredrickton, NB

Photo Source: http://myspace.com/bydivineright

Follow Jay's blog, chronicling a year long project to see one musical act live, per week at http://livemusicproject.blogspot.com

[Review] Miss Emily Brown - In Technicolor

Miss Emily Brown: In Technicolor

The sophomore LP of Miss Emily Brown was inspired by the discovery of her grandmothers World War 2 journal and it is awash with simple phrases and a gorgeous tapestry of music. Her arraignments are usually superficially simple with undertones of something much deeper. It is as if she touches on a deep rooted nerve that most of us did not know we had.

Her lyrics read like a colorful narrative of the Second World War. Anguish and pain in her words pull the listener through some of the most vivid scenes:

“On my day off I do the wash and black lead 
Today I take the girls to see a show instead 

And in the darkness of the Odeon I let it go 
I yelled and cried when President Wilson’s wife died 
I reconcile to do the things I am accused of 
Stop turning down every man like I am used to”

You can picture the haunting sorrow that Emily culled from her grandmother’s journals, the loneliness of being a soldier’s wife, or of a girl waiting for a letter from the frontlines. The lyrics are often plainly worded yet phrased into something more timeless.

Miss Emily Brown somehow makes you want to go back and suffer through the pain the subjects in her songs endure. Written with such plain words as to be accessible to the masses and yet with such a vibrancy that draws the listener into a world wrought with questions and sorrow and harsh realities.

Her recent work with Corwin Fox in their project Morlove (to be released in February) seems to have helped her further develop as a songwriter. Her lyrics feel more fully developed than her 2008 debut Part of you Pours Out of Me… Not that she has ever had a deficiency lyrically, nor has she ever been lacking on the production side of things either. Her attention to detail is just as sharp as ever, even while preparing two projects at the same time.

In Technicolor is available from her website http://missemilybrown.bandcamp.com/ for download by paying what you think its worth, based on the fact that it has been in my player for a week straight without growing tired, this album has some shelf life, and like a good war story, it seems to only get better each time it is told. Put your headphones on, and enjoy.

http://missemilybrown.bandcamp.com/

http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/Miss-Emily-Brown

http://web.mac.com/emilyemillard/emily_brown_music/home.html

Dog Day - Elder Schoolhouse LP

Every once in a while a band like Dog Day comes along. They wowed the ears of listeners with their release of "Night Group" and kept those ears perked with their release of "Concentration". Now their newest offering "Edler Schoolhouse" seems to deliver what we have always wanted.

Side A of this LP contains three songs that were recorded at Rick White's Elder Schoolhouse studio earlier this year. One of those was even written by White himself. It's a well selected set of songs that flow into the next in strong smooth motions. Side B is more like a journey into the self. Quite cloudy and full of drive and intent. The whole record is just over twenty-five minutes long, but it is guarenteed that you will be putting this on heavy rotation. These are going to sell out quick so be sure to grab your copy from Divorce Records as soon as possible. Truly Halifax at it's finest.

Concert Review – Amy Millan with Bahamas in Calgary

Tuesday, October 20 2009
Marquee Room
Calgary, Alberta

A friend of mine in Sacramento California asked me to give him a full report on the Amy Millan concert, as he was trying to decide if he should drive up to San Francisco to see her live show. Immediately I told him to do it, because really, how could it not be great? Long story short, I fully stand behind my previous comment. But if you are looking for the whole long story, here you go.

The evening started with Bahamas, which is led by Efie Juravanen, who has recently put his time in with bands such as Great Lake Swimmers, the Stills, Jason Collett and even Feist. Juravanen walked on stage looking a bit like a combination of a 1970s Hockey player and a lumberjack, complete with one hulluva porn ‘stash. Later in the show he admitted that he was at the point in the tour where he was out of clean clothing and dipping into his own merch. To the surprise of the audience, this man with his electric guitar, backed only by drums, had a velvety smooth voice and beautiful melodies. In his very words “oh yeah, that’s the sound that the ladies love”. It is hard to imagine that songs about knocking teeth when you lean in for a kiss (Hockey Teeth) and about missing someone so much that when you get to see them again, you can’t get away from them fast enough (Already Yours) can be so beautiful and sincere. Bahamas engaged the crowd (which seems to be a difficult task for an opening band in a bar full of drunk scenesters) and sent everyone running for merch as soon as their set was done. All in all, Bahamas were a perfect precursor to Amy Millan.

Amy Millan is currently touring her new album “Masters of the Burial”, which marks her second solo effort since 2006’s “Honey From the Tombs”. Amy Millan has a beautiful pure voice that just seems so effortless, as if she could sing in her sleep. Millan, backed by a four-piece band, opened the show with Losing You. The show consisted of an even mix of older songs and new songs, and managed to cover all the ‘hits’. Millan was cheery and upbeat despite the melancholy nature of a large majority of her songs (most of her songs can be categorized into ‘songs about drinking’ and ‘songs about death’). She engaged the audience in witty banter, discussing the perfect sheepskin jacket she found in Drumheller and highlighting the differences between Calgarians and Torontonians (apparently we Calgarians keep better time when clapping along). Unforunately, the Calgary audience did not pay Millan the respect she deserved. The chatter was akin to that found in a seedy night club with an unknown local band playing, not the respect that ought to be paid to one of Canada’s greatest singer songwriters. At one point Millan had to ask the crowd to quiet down so she and her band could play a quiet acapella song. The crowd took so long to get settled and take the volume down a notch, that when singing Pour Me Up Another, she changed the lyrics from “would everyone be quiet” to “everyone sure likes to talk a lot”. Despite the rowdy crowd, Millan was a true showman and took it all in stride, telling the audience that they were allowed to get crazy and chat as much as they liked during He Brings Out the Whiskey In Me. Amy Millan is a true musical treasure and put on an absolutely mesmerizing show. As discovered by my friend and myself, she is downright swoon worthy.

Amy Millan continues her North American tour. Specific dates and locations can be found at http://www.amymillan.com/